Everything you wanted to know about your next book!

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

Having been so grumpy about Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang, I thought I’d talk about a Booker Prize winner I really do like: The Blind Assassin, which won the Prize in 2000.

Margaret Atwood’s books seems to move at will between subject matter dealing with contemporary social reality (such as The Robber Bride), Canadian history, (such as Alias Grace) and speculative fiction, (such as Oryx and Crake). In this book, we have them all in one.

The complex plot is in itself a considerable technical achievement. The book begins with a first person account by Iris Griffen of being informed of her sister Laura’s accidental death. Then comes an account of the accident as if from a Toronto newspaper, from which we learn that Laura died in 1945. The reader is then introduced to the book written by Laura entitled ‘The Blind Assassin’. This book, published posthumously, tells of a romance between an unnamed couple, in the course of which he tells her installments of a story which he makes up as he goes along set on the planet Zycron. The story then reverts to Iris’s first person account, but now Iris is an old woman, living in the present day but also writing down her recollections of the past. The novel is made up of all these elements interleaved with each other – present day, memories, newspaper items and Laura’s book, both the romance and the story set on Zycron. But, unsurprisingly, all is not as it seems. Where a writer is writing about another writer writing about another storyteller, how ‘true’ is any of it? ‘… is what I remember the same thing as what actually happened?’ Iris asks herself. And replies: ‘It is now: I am the only survivor’.

Atwood’s descriptions of the landscape and buildings of the fictional Port Ticonderoga, the physical setting for much of the book, sound completely real – yet they are no more real than the descriptions of the planet Zycron. The social attitudes and prejudices which condition the action are also real – an accurate and not altogether unsympathetic picture of small town Canada from the 1920s to the present. But as important as what is described are the silences – what the story doesn’t tell us, at least until the end.

There is betrayal and tragedy in the novel; ‘It’s loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward, along its twisted road’. But it’s not a depressing book. This is partly because of Iris’s dry observations and acerbic comments on the situations and people she is describing. But it is also because she is so human. Iris doesn’t get what she most wants, but she gets the next best thing, and accepts this gracefully. Her realistic attitude to life – and death – are those of her creator. Atwood says ‘Optimism means better than reality; pessimism means worse than reality. I’m a realist’. And so is Iris, even in the face of age and decline. I find this deeply satisfying.

It is tempting to see at least some of Atwood’s fiction as autobiographical. She often writes about educated middle class Canadian women, and about lifestyles that are similar to those of her family and friends. However she rejects the suggestion that her work is autobiography, because the experience that she writes about is transformed by the power of imagination. She says that ‘every artist is, among other things, a con-artist. We con-artists do tell the truth, in a way; but, as Emily Dickinson said, we tell it slant. By indirection, we find direction out’. ‘I believe in artistry’, she says. ‘I believe there’s a difference between true confessions and writing a novel’. Peter Carey made up Ned Kelly’s true confession, and Margaret Atwood made up the stories that make up this novel. But to my mind, her direction is surer than his.

[…] Overall, I didn’t think this was up to the standard of the first two in the trilogy, or to her usual standard, for that matter. In the end, I couldn’t help but agree with the critic in the Guardian who wrote: ‘MaddAddam is slightly crazed, usually intriguing and often great fun. I would have enjoyed it even more, however, were it not for the nagging voice that said: instead of this, we might have had another Alias Grace, or another The Blind Assassin.’ You can read what I said about The Blind Assassin – one of my favourite books – here. […]

Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search
Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good
success. If you know of any please share. Cheers!

As a result, you could pick the color palate for your eating room that performs well
for every one of the three rooms. For the most pleasing, wide and
also welcome eating table, the egg-shaped contour can provide
healthier. the internet shopping might make the shopping so
feasible which one could create a simply click on the pc and also thus result in the
required oval glass dining table be present as part
of his home as part of no duration.So this particular destination must be quiet calm and also heat giving what must assist as part of starting the surroundings
for best conversations.

The first thing I noticed after I drank it,
is the tightness in my joints went separated, exclusively the tension in my shoulders.

Theskin will most likely often feel purple and recently
there can alsobe puffiness and also soreness within the
area. This might alter the microbiology of your Candida treatment,
that makes it simpler for yeast infection in order to choose hold.

this kind of the infection affects over simply the skin; as it can
additionally battle the ears, anal sacs, the vagina and
the rectum of your furry friend.If you are feeling operate
across, after that it’s additionally a idea in order to choose the general vitamin supplement.

These consist of a extreme discomfort in the muscles, headache,
nausea and even a particular allergy. Thrush is actually a yeast infection many commonly resulted in from a
proliferation of Candida albicans within the vagina.
Side effects of this particular Candida treatment offer difficulty sleeping, extreme mood swings, abruptly
term memory loss, panic, misery, exhaustion and misery.

So it will be hard to allow them in order to have
a lot of occasion to enjoy the common Television programs or perhaps TV show.
The remainder of the episode revolves around two circumstances, because you might started to expect.

As always for a Lost box set, recently there tend
to be many Easter Eggs, some exclusive in order to the Blu-ray.
.along with Windows Media Player, the Media Centre edition of Microsoft
windows XP comes because of the Media Centre software, what additionally allows DVD playback.

By getting recommended furnishings, you will definitely maximize upon out recently there region and also guaranteed pieces
tend to be helpful. For the most pleasing, wide and welcome eating table, the oval form can
provide improved. As part of many homes, the oval
glass dining table serves as the gathering destination of the family.
measuring and form thing the lot for this
particular modern dining table sets however this particular truly not
imply that pieces you select have to be convertible.

The outdoor is definitely a solid black colored, which makes it frustrating
in order to see the coffee that you have spilled in it through the years, and
additionally it doesn’t really come apart, therefore besides the filter basket and also the pot, your don’t need to worry about cleaning it.
I would be very amazed when you can find this particular Western
fold Quick – Drip 10-mug coffee maker for sale anyplace, but you may
well be confident to obtain an utilized definitely one using the internet, possibly on craigslist, e – Bay, or Bid
– Cactus.

[…] read more about her here. She won the 2000 Booker Prize for The Blind Assassin, which I reviewed here. Oryx and Crake made the short list in 2003, but this one didn’t even make the long list in 2009. […]

Wow, I think you will be a great OB. It seems like you have a real love for children, fleiaims, and people in general. Sad to say that those qualities are rare traits in todays world. I believe not just anyone should be in just any job because you could be in a job that you hate and end up making everyone who comes in contact with you at work miserable. You have the joy and care to be great at your job and effect those you will be working around not only by your knowledge , but by your love for what you do.